This invention relates to oversubscribing resources, such as bandwidth, on a network.
Network resources reserved for a device may be wasted if the device does not fully utilize its reserved resources. For example, applications such as Voice Over IP (VOIP) typically reserve large amounts of bandwidth on a network, but often use less than the amount reserved. This situation reduces the number of applications that can run on the network and, in some cases, the quality of service (QoS) of the network.
In general, in one aspect, the invention is directed to reserving a network resource. The invention features obtaining historical usage data relating to usage of the network resource over a period of time, and determining an amount by which the network resource can be oversubscribed based on the historical usage data.
This aspect may include one or more of the following features. Current usage data relating to current usage of the network resource is obtained and the amount by which the network resource can be oversubscribed is determined based additionally on the current usage data.
The historical usage data is obtained by determining an average difference between an amount of the network resource that was reserved over the period of time and an amount of the network resource that was used over the period of time. The current usage data is obtained by determining a difference between an amount of the network resource that is reserved at a current time and an amount of the network resource that is in use at the current time.
The amount by which the network resource can be oversubscribed is determined based on a selected risk parameter. The risk parameter is selected using one or more fuzzy logic rules. The fuzzy logic rules are based on the historical usage data and current usage data. The risk parameter is set relatively high if the historical usage data indicates that usage of reserved network resource over the period of time is relatively low and the current usage data indicates that current usage of the reserved network resource is relatively low. The risk parameter is set relatively low if the historical usage data indicates that usage of the reserved network resource over the period of time is relatively high and the current usage data indicates that current usage of the reserved network resource is relatively high.
An amount of the network resource is reserved based on the amount by which the network resource can be oversubscribed. The network resource is reserved on a device on the network and may include bandwidth on the device.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, including the claims and drawings.